Hollywood stars head to Emmys led by surreal workplace show 'Severance'

Los Angeles: Stars of television shows "The Pitt," "The White Lotus," "The Studio" and "Hacks" strutted on the red carpet on Sunday for Hollywood's Emmy Awards, where the absurdist workplace tale "Severance" from Apple TV+ leads the nominations.

"Severance," the favorite for the night's top award of best drama, centers around corporate employees who undergo a surgery that separates their work and personal memories. Stars Adam Scott and Britt Lower are nominated for lead acting honors.

The celebration begins at 8 p.m. Eastern (0000 GMT Monday) in Los Angeles and will air live on CBS. Comedian Nate Bargatze will host.

On the red carpet before the show, many celebrities chose classic black and white combinations for their gowns or tuxedos. Early arrivals included "Only Murders in the Building" co-stars Steve Martin and Martin Short, "Matlock" star and best comedy actress nominee Kathy Bates and "The Studio" star and co-creator Seth Rogen.

"The Studio," a satire of Hollywood movie executives and a frontrunner for the best comedy trophy, received 23 nominations in total for its first season.

"It's so lovely," Rogen said before the show. "I've made a lot of things that haven't gotten remotely close to this type of recognition."

"The Studio" faces off against last year's comedy winner, "Hacks," which tells the story of a septuagenarian comedian (Jean Smart) who clashes with the network running her late-night show.

Smart is expected to win her fourth best comedy actress Emmy for the "Hacks" role.

"The Penguin," starring Farrell as a gangster in the DC Comics universe, will compete for best limited series against Netflix hit "Adolescence" and others.

Noah Wyle is competing for his first Emmy since 1999 for his role as an emergency room doctor on "The Pitt." Wyle was nominated five times for "ER" but never won.

Ford also is vying for his first Emmy, for his supporting role as a gruff therapist on "Shrinking."

Other notable acting nominees include Cristin Milioti for "The Penguin," "The Bear" actors Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri, Kathy Bates for "Matlock" and Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey for "The Last of Us."

"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," a nominee for best talk series, also may be recognized by Emmy voters. CBS announced in July that it was canceling the show.

Winners will be chosen by the roughly 26,000 performers, directors, producers and other members of the Television Academy.